![]() The city was an important Atlantic port, serving plantations in the area as a transportation and mercantile hub. Savannah lies about seventeen miles from the river’s mouth on the first firm piece of ground inland from the Atlantic. British defenders under General Augustine Prevost, numbering about one-half of the American-French force, included Highland regulars, Hessian mercenaries, American Loyalists, a few Native Americans, and formerly enslaved African Americans seeking freedom through enlistment. The multinational forces on the revolutionaries’ side included naval and land forces under Count Charles Henri d'Estaing of France, Irishmen of the Dillon Regiment commanded by Colonel Arthur Dillon, a mixed force of cavalry called Pulaski's Legion led by Polish aristocrat Casimir Pulaski, and General Benjamin Lincoln’s force of regulars and militia for a total of about 7,000 men. It was one of the costliest battles of the Revolutionary War in terms of casualties. ![]() The Siege of Savannah (September 23 to October 18, 1779) refers to the failed attempt by American and French forces to retake the port city from its British occupiers. ![]()
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